Tag Archives | Martin Bashir

Now it’s Salon’s turn to whale on Scientology (more please mainstream media, you have a lot of catching up to do):

When Paul Haggis, the writer of “Million Dollar Baby” and “Crash,” kicked his faith to the curb after 35 years, he did so as only an Oscar-winning scribe could: with a badass screed. His resignation letter, dated Aug. 19, emerged on ex-Scientologist Mark Rathburn’s blog yesterday and promptly went viral.

In his letter, Haggis explains, “for ten months now I have been writing to ask you to make a public statement denouncing the actions of the Church of Scientology of San Diego. Their public sponsorship of Proposition 8, a hate-filled legislation that succeeded in taking away the civil rights of gay and lesbian citizens of California — rights that were granted them by the Supreme Court of our state — shames us.” Though the Church claims not to dictate personal sexual practices and has several openly gay members, it’s perhaps no coincidence that Scientology also has a reputation as Hollywood’s biggest closet, with gay rumors persistently dogging famous members like Tom Cruise and John Travolta.

The mainstream media, led by the broadcast networks, have been notoriously reluctant to air any negative news or views regarding the 'Church' of Scientology, largely due to that organization's penchant for costly litigation intended to financially drain critics so thoroughly that any thought of following in their footsteps is squashed by network lawyers before any brave young producer or journalist can finish the idea.
Perhaps the wind has changed, however, with an in depth investigation by ABC News' well-respected show Nightline, which has a variety of reports about Scientology here, as well as a lengthy 'Inside Scientology' video report from Martin Bashir (click that link to go to the full ABC News video site; the YouTube clips below are partial):